On Thursday, North Korea said that it will never give up its nuclear weapons unless the U.S. agrees to Pyongyang's definition of "denuclearization," which includes the U.S. taking South Korea and probably Japan out from under its nuclear umbrella. It also appears to include removing America's 28,500 troops from South Korea. President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un agreed to work toward "complete denuclearization" at a June summit, but the disagreement over what that entails has hamstrung peace talks ever since. This new statement, issued by the state-run Korean Central News Agency, throws those talks into further turmoil.

"The United States must now recognize the accurate meaning of the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, and especially, must study geography," North Korea said. "When we talk about the Korean Peninsula, it includes the territory of our republic and also the entire region of (South Korea) where the United States has placed its invasive force, including nuclear weapons. When we talk about the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, it means the removal of all sources of nuclear threat, not only from the South and North but also from areas neighboring the Korean Peninsula." The U.S. removed its tactical nukes from South Korea in the 1990s.

The statement from Pyongyang is seen as a blow not just for Trump's efforts to make it appear the talks are progressing but also for South Korean President Moon Jae-in, who has said Kim is willing to negotiate away his nuclear arsenal. "The blunt statement could be an indicator that the North has no intentions to return to the negotiation table anytime soon," Shin Beomchul at Seoul's Asan Institute for Policy Studies tells The Associated Press. "It's clear that the North intends to keep its nukes and turn the diplomatic process into a bilateral arms reduction negotiation with the United States, rather than a process where it unilaterally surrenders its program." Peter Weber

North Korea on Friday threatened to resume development of nuclear weapons if the United States does not lift economic sanctions.

"The U.S. thinks that its oft-repeated 'sanctions and pressure' leads to 'denuclearization,'" said a statement from Pyongyang. "We cannot help laughing at such a foolish idea." The statement argued lifting sanctions would be an appropriate reciprocation of North Korea's "proactive and good-will measures" since opening denuclearization talks with the U.S. and South Korea.

Also Friday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo indicated sanctions will continue. "A lot of work remains," he said, "but I'm confident that we will keep the economic pressure in place until such time as [North Korean leader Kim Jong Un] fulfills the commitment he made to President Trump back in June in Singapore." Bonnie Kristian

"Without any trust in the U.S. there will be no confidence in our national security and under such circumstances there is no way we will unilaterally disarm ourselves first," said North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho at the United Nations Saturday.

"The perception that sanctions can bring us on our knees is a pipe-dream of the people who are ignorant about us," he continued, reiterating a regular complaint from the Kim Jong Un regime. "But the problem is that the continued sanctions are deepening our mistrust" in the United States.

Ri argued Washington has not reciprocated goodwill gestures — like "stopping nuclear and ICBM tests, dismantling the nuclear test site in a transparent manner, and affirming not to transfer nuclear weapons and nuclear technology under any circumstances" — from Pyongyang. The Trump administration says sanctions will continue until denuclearization is complete.

Read more here at The Weekon what President Trump wants from North Korea, why "peace or war" may be a false dichotomy here, and what a plausible roadmap to peace might look like. Bonnie Kristian

North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho on Saturday insisted his country is proceeding in good faith with leader Kim Jong Un's pledge to denuclearize, pushing back on Friday comments from U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

"The DPRK stands firm in its determination and commitment for implementing the DPRK-U.S. Joint Statement in a responsible and good-faith manner," he said, using an acronym for Democratic People's Republic of Korea. "What is alarming, however, is the insistent moves manifested within the U.S. to go back to the old, far from its leader's intention."

While President Trump has expressed complete optimism about Kim's denuclearization promise, Pompeo said Friday "we still have a ways to go to achieve the ultimate outcome we're looking for." Satellite images gathered earlier this week showed North Korea working on new ballistic missiles, as did a United Nations report obtained by CNN Friday. Bonnie Kristian

"When we spoke to them about denuclearization, they did not push back," Pompeo said in Japan on Sunday. "The road ahead will be difficult and challenging and we know that critics will try to minimize the work that we've achieved." He said if his demands were "gangster-like," then "the world is a gangster," and said he believes the North Koreans are negotiating in good faith "because they were, and they did." In Hanoi on Monday, Pompeo held up Vietnam as a model Pyongyang should emulate of economic success after making peace with the U.S.

The North Korean statement "was a fairly serious insult directed against Pompeo," says Christopher Hill, a former U.S. ambassador to South Korea and lead negotiator with North Korea. "I think it was a pretty bad start to the process, but it doesn't mean it's over yet," because with North Korea, "most of the time you come back empty-handed." On Fox News Sunday, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) blamed China for "pulling the North Koreans back" in the peace talks. "And to our North Korean friends, I can't say the word 'friend' yet," he added. "You asked Pompeo: 'Did he sleep well?' If you knew what I knew about what we could do to the leadership of North Korea, you wouldn't sleep very well." Peter Weber

President Trump is clearly an Elton John fan. "Tiny Dancer" was a campaign rally staple, he referred to North Korea's Kim Jong Un as "Rocket Man" on Twitter and before the United Nations General Assembly, John had to shoot down a hopeful Trump team rumor that he was performing at Trump's inauguration, and at a rally in Montana on Thursday evening, Trump bragged about his crowd sizes, telling the audience:

I have broken more Elton John records — he seems to have a lot of records. And I, by the way, I don't have a musical instrument. I don't have a guitar or an organ — no organ. Elton has an organ, and lots of other people helping. ... So we break all of these records. Really we do it without like, the musical instruments. This is the only musical: the mouth. And hopefully, the brain attached to the mouth, right? The brain, more important than the mouth, is the brain. The brain is much more important. [President Trump, Montana rally]

But it's the "Rocket Man" nickname that is making actual news. During Trump's lunch with Kim in Singapore last month, "Kim mentioned that Trump referred to him as 'Rocket Man' when tensions ran high last year," and "Trump then asked Kim if he knew the song and Kim said no," a diplomatic source in Washington tells South Korea's The Chosunilbo. So Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is bringing a CD with "Rocket Man" with him to Pyongyang on Friday, reportedly bearing a note for Kim from Trump and Trump's signature. Pompeo, who is under mounting pressure to get Kim to agree to concrete denuclearization steps, is also apparently bringing a letter from Trump to Kim. Many experts are skeptical that Kim is open to destroying his nuclear weapons program. Read more about Trump's gifts for Kim at The Chosunilbo. Peter Weber

The Pentagon announced Friday it has come to an agreement with South Korea to indefinitely suspend two more joint training exercises. The two countries previously announced the suspension of "large-scale" military exercises following President Trump's promise to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to stop "provocative, inappropriate, and expensive" war games.

"To support implementing the outcomes of the Singapore Summit, and in coordination with our Republic of Korea ally, Secretary Mattis has indefinitely suspended select exercises" that were scheduled for this summer, said chief Pentagon spokesperson Dana White.

"This includes suspending Freedom Guardian, along with two Korean Marine Exchange Program training exercises scheduled to occur in the next three months," she continued. "In support of upcoming diplomatic negotiations led by Secretary Pompeo, additional decisions will depend upon the DPRK [North Korea] continuing to have productive negotiations in good faith." Bonnie Kristian

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is still very much committed to his maybe on-again summit with President Trump in Singapore on June 12, South Korean President Moon Jae-in said Sunday. The two Korean leaders met Saturday for an unannounced discussion of how to keep the summit and inter-Korean relations on track after Trump's surprise Thursday cancellation of the scheduled negotiations.

Moon also reported Kim reaffirmed his promise to pursue "complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula." Kim's uncertainty, he said, "is not the will for denuclearization, but the concern that if [North Korea] denuclearizes, whether the U.S. can end hostile relations and guarantee the security of the [Kim] regime." Pyongyang has long cast its nuclear development as insurance against U.S.-orchestrated regime change, and in late April, Moon's government said Kim promised to denuclearize if the U.S. pledges not to invade.

Meanwhile, Trump told reporters late Saturday that if the summit proceeds, the time and location will remain unchanged. Bonnie Kristian